Friday, December 21, 2012

Kastengel--Savory Cheese Sticks

Santa don't want no cookies this Christmas Eve. All that milk and sugar brings him down with a blood sugar crash, a Christmas day funk that lasts through New Year's. So this year we're leaving him some kastengel and a glass of thick red wine, or maybe some scotch.

The Dutch didn't leave Indonesia much from 350 years of colonialism. They were more interested in what they could take from the archipelago than in what they could contribute to it. One thing they did leave was an appetite for kastengel. Look at the ingredients and you immediately recognize they did not spring from the Indonesian islands. Yet, kastengel are a favorite treat to celebrate Lebaran and other major holidays. Cheesy, buttery, and utterly lacking in nutritional merit, kastengel make tremendous sense as a way to celebrate the end of a month of fasting.

Kastengel are also a nice change from the overabundance of sweets following Ramadan and during the holiday season in the US. Cookies are everywhere at this time of year. Snickerdoodles, ginger snaps, candy cane meringues, almond crescents, and Russian tea cakes abound. That Santa doesn't slip into a diabetic coma is a Christmas miracle in itself. Leave a few kastengel in place of the usual cookies and Santa will be pleased. He may even be extra good to you.

I had never heard of Nyonya Liem or Ibu Liem until Tjing asked me to make some kastengel, but a google search for kastengel resulted in her name appearing again and again. So I adapted her recipe, simplifying its directions, and translating it into English. I'm sure the cheddar cheese her recipe calls for is the Kraft processed cheddar that one can find fairly easily in Indonesia. It makes a more decorative topping of the kastengel as it could probably be baked in a potter's kiln without melting. A grated parmesan or other relatively dry cheese will produce similar results. I used a mix of parmesan and a good English cheddar.

I am giving the measurements most Americans are comfortable with; however, I use a scale when making these as it just makes it easier. The original recipe calls for equal parts butter and margarine, 150 grams each.

3 TBS (25 gr)corn starch
5 TBS (25 gr)powdered milk (the original recipe calls for full cream powdered milk, but I used non-fat as that is what is readily available in the US and it worked fine)
3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups (500 gr) all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder

Egg wash of egg yolks mixed with a little oil and water
Finely grated cheddar/parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, margarine, and egg yolks. Using a mixer, beat the ingredients for 3 to 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the cream to further lighten the mixture. Add in the cheese and continue to beat until thoroughly mixed in.

In another bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter/cheese mixture until all the flour has been incorporated. You will have what looks like a bowlful of crumbly particles. The dough will not come together until you press it together with your hands.

To make the logs, press together a handful of the mixture and roll it into a rope, like making a playdough snake. You want the rope to be not quite as thick as an AA battery. Using an AA battery as a guide, cut the rope of dough into pieces the length of a battery. Place the cut pieces about 1 inch apart from each other on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Once you have filled a baking sheet with the cut pieces, brush them with the egg yolk wash. I make a wash with one egg yolk at a time and have found that will usually be enough for one baking sheet (about 50 kastengel). Sprinkle the finely grated cheese atop the pieces.

Bake in a pre-heated 300º oven for about 20 minutes. Lower the heat to 200º and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until the kastengel are cooked through, but not really browned.

This makes a lot. 10 to 12 dozen. The dough can be frozen. Bring it to room temperature before attempting to roll it out and make the kastengel.

3 comments:

Hi, just want thank you for sharing this recipe (love the photos and decorations too). I had used another recipe for the ingredients, but followed your detailed and clear, and very helpful instructions to make the kastengels successfully. Will try the ingredients in your recipe next time.